Pollution, emissions, global warming, and other environmental issues continue to gain media exposure and public awareness. Some consumers purchase products or services based on how environmentally friendly or “green” they perceive the manufacturer and/or seller of the product or service to be, and some of those consumers are willing to pay a premium price for doing so. Products may be marketed as being “green” in an attempt to woo consumers.
The environmental benefit of buying an existing “green” product or service, however, is not precisely quantified, and a consumer has no way to know how much a given purchase may benefit the environment, if indeed it does so at all. Consumers may be wary of overblown marketing claims (or “greenwashing”) but may not be able to invest the time, energy, or money in researching a “green” marketing claim to determine its authenticity. Many such skeptical consumers may be reluctant to choose a “green” product, even if it is the same price as another, similar product.
New markets in the sale of pollution/emission credits are emerging in an attempt to provide economic incentives to reduce pollution. A cap-and-trade market, for example, enables a low-polluting entity to sell unused pollution credits to a high-polluting entity, thereby providing an incentive to reduce pollution and a penalty for emitting a high amount of pollution. Such markets, however, tend to trade in bulk quantities of pollution credits and are inaccessible to an average consumer.
A need therefore exists for a way to incentivize consumers to purchase products and services by offering a tangible, measureable “green” benefit that taps into the emerging emissions markets; and for manufacturers, service providers, and marketers to promote “green” as part of their sales activities.